Very little has been written about the
sperm whales of Newfoundland and Labrador but they are frequently
seen offshore and in Trinity and Placentia Bays.

This social whale boasts the largest
brain on the planet and is famous for its deep dives and mysterious
eating habits. The small lower jaw with its ~60 teeth appear
awkwardly placed in the middle of a massive body. Somehow this
uncomfortable looking set-up allows the sperm whale to dive
thousands of feet (easily over 1,000 meters) underwater in search of
active prey that can include the giant squid… the world's most
massive and mysterious invertebrate.

Look for wrinkled black (or very dark
grey) skin, a single S-shaped blowhole or nostril located on the
left side of the animal's box-like head, and an angled spout that
resembles a low humpback blow from a distance.

Like humpbacks, a sperm whale will
often show its tail prior to a deep dive but the world's largest
toothed whale is usually less curious than humpbacks. The tails are
less distinctive than a humpback tail and it is challenging to
identify individuals although the leaders and guests of Wildland
Tours have found that the same (apparent) individuals remain in the
same areas of certain deep water bays for months at a time; and
occasionally overwinter close to the coast in a deep bay.

A female sperm whale reaches maturity
at 9-10 years while males take 18-20 years to mature. On average, a
female will give birth to about 7-10 calves in her life as she lives
to be 70 years old or more. Males tend to have shorter, more violent
lives and juvenile males will occasionally be found dead along the
coast, victims of attacks by larger harem masters. The sperm whales
we see along the coast appear to be young males.

We are still looking for Newfoundland
and Labrador individuals boasting markings that will allow us to
track them over time; but the following individuals were
photographed on Wildland Tours' Whale Study Weeks and Newfoundland
Adventures.

We appreciate receiving reports and
photos of sperm whales from around eastern North America.